Psyched
by xXApple JuiceXx
Summary: My first Static Shock fic. Richie's being abused by his dad at home, and he really can't do anything about it. Meanwhile, there's a new girl at Dakota High, and she's a bang baby with a troubled past. Can the two find comfort in eachother? R&R!
1. Abuse

Rita: W00t! Ok this is my first Static Shock fic, so dun flame meh! Flames will be used to burn my exam results... Oh, and I don't own Static Shock!

Chapter One-

Crystal tears fell from blue eyes, behind silver frames. Richie laid on his stomach. His hands were on his forehead, holding his head up. He had been having trouble breathing for about ten minutes. He could still remember the feeling of his father's fist against his chest.

Flashback

"What did I say about hanging out with that Hawkins kid, Richie!" His father had yelled, backhanding him.

"Dad! Virgil's my best friend! I can't just stop hanging out with him!" Richie tried to defend himself, backing away as he felt his eyes sting with tears. He didn't dare show weakness in front of his father.

"You can, and you will! As of now, you are grounded. And I'll make sure you don't hang out with that Virgil Hawkins!" To make sure his statement was understood, the older man balled his hand up in a fist and struck his son.

Richie fell against the wall, his head hitting it hard.

End Flashback

Richie reached under one of his pillows, feeling around until he touched a small, metal frame. He pulled out the frame to reveal a picture of him and Virgil in it. He couldn't stop hanging out with him. Virgil was his best friend, and partner in crime fighting.

He didn't know how his father could be so stupid. He had to patrol with Virgil after school. He could just tell his father that he had an after school activity that Virgil wasn't involved in, or tell him he was going to a friend's house to study. The blonde reached for his telephone, getting ready to dial said teenager's phone number, when he heard a door slam.

Richie quickly shoved the picture frame back under his pillow, and placed the phone back into the cradle to charge. He swiftly slid under his bed covers, curling up, and squeezing his eyes tightly shut.

He twitched when he heard his father open the door, and felt his muscles tense when he heard his father's shoes pad softly to the edge of his bed and turn off his lamp, which had been his only source of light.

When the door closed, Richie relaxed, stretching out and moving the pillow so it was sandwiched between his head and the backboard of the bed. He let his eyes slide shut, and allowed sleep to overcome him.

Dream

Richie could vividly recall what each and every hit that his father had dealt him felt like. He tossed and turned in distress. Tears spilled from beneath closed lids. He murmured softly in incoherent mumbles.

He felt every single strike. Each and every hit. Each time. Very vividly.

End Dream

Richie awoke from his nightmare drenched in sweat. He hated those nightmares he had every single night. He need to start telling someone about them.

He sighed heavily and tried to drift off to sleep. He kept thinking about what his father had said. The words played back in his mind like a broken record, a broken record that was driving him to insanity.

He pulled out the picture again of him and Virgil, but put it away as soon as he had pulled it out. When he had seen the picture, he had felt his father hit his chest from earlier, causing more tears to spill out of his soft blue eyes.

Richie heard a soft techno tone that made him jump. He looked over to his cell phone, and saw that it had lit up, and said "Virgil" on the caller ID. He picked it up, "Hello?" His voice was shaky, and he heard it crack.

"Hey, Rich. Somethin' wrong? You sound like you're cryin'."

"No, no... I'm f-fine."

"Richie, somethin's wrong. Why you cryin'?"

"I'm n-not cr-cryin, V."

"Sure, and I'm not Static, and you ain't Gear. Spill it, Rich."

"V, I c-can't... If m-my dad hears--."

"Rich, I understand. Your dad's pissed 'cause you're hangin' with me again?"

Richie was giving in. He knew he could tell Virgil anything. "It's not just that, Virgil. It's n-not just that." He was contemplating on whether or not to tell Virgil that his father had hit him.

"Then what is it?" Virgil's voice showed concern. Obviously, he was worried about his best friend.

"N-nothing," he said, a little too hurridly.

Virgil was silent for a while. Then, "Should I come over?"

"No!" Richie panicked. He didn't want his father to catch him with Virgil, right after he had told him that he was grounded. Then there would be hell to pay. "I mean, no... you don't have to."

After a moment of thought and twirling the phone cord, "Ok," Virgil whispered softly, "I'll talk to you tomorrow at school."

"V! Wait, don't hang up--."

"No, Rich. Don't try to explain. I understand. I'll see you tomorrow," there was a soft click before Richie wanted to throw his phone across the room.

He hung it up calmly, but had started to cry furiously as soon as he did so.

Richie thought about facing Virgil tomorrow. He would have to tell him because he had the first three periods with him, then lunch with him. Virgil would pry at the blonde until he spilled the beans. He put his head on his pillow, and closed his eyes, again letting sleep overcome him.

Rita: I can't believe I did that to Richie.... I dun like his dad, damnit! He's evil!

Nicky: Yea, poor Richie!

Rita: Where'd you come from?

Nicky: It's called a door...... silence Say no to Kryptonite!

Rita: Um, that's Nicky... She'll be all over the place before and after the chapters... And beware of the say no to Kryptonite... She has a shirt that says that... ;

Nicky: Review, peoples!


	2. Alexus

Nicky: Hi, peoples! Welcome to chapter two of Psyched!

Rita: How much sugar did you have?

Nicky:...a LOT!

Rita: Lovely... Oh well, here's chapter two of Psyched, as Nicky here already said.And I don't own Static Shock... I only own my character, Alexus Osbourne.. ;;

Nicky: On with teh ficceh!

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Chapter Two

The alarm clock rang, red numbers indicating 6:30 AM. Richie smacked the clock, getting up and trudging to the bathroom, grabbing a white t-shirt, khaki, cargo pants, his green and white hoodie, boxers, and socks on the way out.

The boy winced as the hot water pelted his shoulders and back, within a few minutes, his hair was washed and conditioned, and he stepped out of the shower. He grabbed a towel and wrapped it around his waist, using a smaller one to dry his hair out.

He tugged on his t-shirt quickly, and then pulled his hoodie over it. Richie finished getting dressed, and ran out of the bathroom, downstairsm to get breakfast. His father wasn't home, since he went to work early, and didn't come home til late.

"Morning, mom," Richie greeted his mother, who was cheerfully making omlets.

"Morning, Richie," Mrs. Foley turned to her son, her cheerful grin fading, "Richie, I heard your father last night. I'm sorry. I don't see how he doesn't like Virgil, he's such a nice boy."

"He doesn't like Virgil because he's black, mom. Let's just leave it at that."

"Yes, but, your father didn't have to hit you like that."

"Let it go, mom. I'll live and learn to deal."

"Richie, you don't know your father's temper. He could really hurt you."

"Mom," Richie's voice cracked, "Can we just drop the subject? Please."

"Okay," his mom turned back to the stove.

Richie ate his omlet in silence, then hollering a good-bye to his mother, headed out the door.

Unfortunatley, Richie ran into Virgil on the way to school, literally.

"Sorry,V," Richie apologized, putting his head down, and tried to walk away.

Virgil grabbed Richie's wrist, "Hold up. You ain't goin' nowhere until you tell me what happened last night with your dad and why you were cryin'."

"I don't wanna talk about it," he mumbled.

"Rich," Virgil grabbed Richie's shoulders, lifting his chin up with one hand so they were looking eye to eye. "Talk to me, man. I'm not gonna stop bugging you until you tell me and get it off your shoulders."

"You really wanna know? Two words," the blonde counted them on his fingers, "Father, and abuse." It had defenitley come out harsher than intended, and he started to walk away, immediatley regretting what he had said.

Virgil grabbed Richie's wrist, "How long has this been goin' on, Richie?"

'V, I really don't wanna talk about it," the shorter teenager tried to pull away gently.

"How long, Richie." He didn't ask, but rather demanded to know what had happened to his best friend.

"Few months," Virgil's eyes widened.

"A few months. A _few_ months, Richie!"

"V, keep your voice down!"

"Rich, how the hell'd you deal?"

Richie hung his head, "I dunno."

Virgil hit his fist against a nearby brick wall, "Richie."

"Look, Virg, I'm sorry. I just didn't geel comfortable talking about it."

Virgil gave Richie a very inquiring look. "Is it just physical abuse... or, y'know, sex--," he was interrupted by a very disturbed looking Richie.

"No, it's just physical... he kinda just hits me," Richie started to walk away, pulling down the sleeves of his hoodie as he felt hot tears sting the corners of his eyes.

"Rich!" Virgil ran up to the blonde, "If your dad don't want you hangin' with me, how're you gonna patrol after school?"

"I'll just tell him I'm going to a friend's house after school to study, and if he asks who, I'll tell him," Richie tried to think of a name and said the first one that came to mind, "Francis."

"Francis, Francis? Francis Stone, Francis? Hotstreak, Francis?"

Richie blushed, "Uh, yeah... sorry, first name that popped into my head."

"Frightening," Virgil raised his eyebrows, checking his watch. "Come on, we're gonna be late for school."

Richie nodded, and headed after Virgil, who had started up the block.

The two boys walked to school in silence. Not that there was any tension. Okay, that would be a lie. There was a hell of a lot of tension. And considering they weren't really paying attention, Richie ran into someone for the second time that day... literally.

"Sorry," a young girl muttered, putting her head down, picking up a book that had fell, and handed it to Richie.

"S'ok," he backed away from the edge of the step, as not to trip. "Are you new around here? I don't think I've seen you before."

"Yeah, I'm Alexus," she held out her hand, which Richie took.

"I'm Richie, and this's Virgil," Richie indicated, pointing over his shoulder.

"Nice to meet you," she shifted, "Um, I need to get to class. I'll talk to you guys later??

"What's your first period?"

"Um," she pulled out a slip of paper, "English."

"Which teacher?"

"Mr. Anderson."

"Hey, that's my first period, too, and Virgil's," Richie smiled, "I'll help you find the classroom."

"Thanks," she smiled shyly.

Virgil stepped in, "I gotta go to talk to Daisy about somethin'. Catch up with ya later, Rich."

"K, V."

Virgil ran into the building. Richie turned to Alexus and motioned for her to follow him. She followed, staying close behind the taller teenager.

They walked into the classroom, and they took two seats in the back next to eachother. While Richie was paying attention to the teacher, Alexus was paying more attention to Richie. She didn't normally start to feel anything about people this quick.

_"He's different, there's something about him,"_ she thought to herself, smiling slightly, _"He's cute, too."_

"Uh, Alexus? Alexus?" Richie waved his hand in front of the girl's face, "Earth to Alexus? Return to planet Earth!"

"Huh, wha, I didn't do it," she shook her head, "Oh, did I, uh, daze?"

"Yeah, all period," Alexus jumped, as she heard Virgil speak from in front of Richie.

"Wierd," she shook her head.

"Yeah," Richie whispered, picking up his books, "Come on, V. Alexus, what's your next class?"

Alexus checked her scheduel, "Ugh, American history with Mr. Johnson. Oh, and you guys can call me Lexie if you want."

"K, Lexie. See you at lunch," Virgil headed out of the classroom.

"I'll see you later, Ale--, Lexie, I gotta go catch up to Virgil," Richie smiled, walking with Alexus out the door. When they separated, Richie thought.

_"Dude, I just met this girl. I can't be having feelings for her,"_ he thought. Mind you, Alexus wasn't the type of girl Richie normally went after. He and she were almost the complete opposite. He was conservative, and you couldn't tell much about him by looking at him. Alexus, on the other hand, her clothes said a lot about her. He could tell just by looking at her, that she was a free spirit, and a rocker. Her shirt said, "Keep Staring... I Might Do A Trick," and her hair was dyed platinum blonde with black highlights.

The next two periods flew by for the two teenagers, who only had one thing on their minds, eachother. The two seperatley came to the same conclusion that instead of directly telling eachother they had feelings, they would talk to the buddies. Alexus would tell Virgil, and Richie would tell Daisy.

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Rita: Yay! Long chapter!

Nicky: DON'T ANNOY THE CRAZY PERSON!

Rita: o.o; Wow. inches away I'm creeped... No more quoting your t-shirts

Nicky: Smile! It confuses people!... Review!


	3. Confessions

Rita: Hey! I finally got around to typing up chapter three, and here it is!

Nicky: Superman!

Rita: Jesus --; You need help... Really, you do..

Nicky: Nope, I need Kryptonite!

Rita: Why, why in the name of all that is Simple Plan, do you have energy spazzes?

Nicky: Cuuuuuuuuuz.... I do?

Rita: You're an odd cookie... Well here's chapter three of Psyched, and I don't own Static Shock, so don't sue me!

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Chapter Three

By the time lunch rolled around, the two teens were sure exactly how there were going to word things.

At the lunch table that day, was Virgil, Richie, Alexus, Daisy, and Frieda. Richie started to blush visibly, trying to cover it up by putting his head down.

"Richie, are you ok? You're beet red," Daisy noted.

"Um, Daisy? C-can I t-talk to you f-for a m-minute?" Richie stuttered, getting up.

"Yeah, sure, Richie," Daisy followed him.

"Um, Virgil? C-can I talk to you, t-too?" Alexus muttered.

"Yeah, Lexie, no prob," Virgil got out of his chair.

"Hey, what about me?" Frieda asked, irritated.

"Stay here," Virgil responded.

The brunette sunk back into her seat.

With Richie and Daisy

"Uh, D-Daisy, I h-have a problem," Richie blushed, starting to toy with his sleeves.

"Oh, that's so cute! You like Lexie!" Daisy squealed, smiling.

"Keep your voice down! How'd you know?"

"It's kinda obvious, what with the way you stare at her."

Richie blushed even more, "Oh... well, can ya tell her for me?"

"Yeah! No problem," Daisy started back to the table, Richie following close behind.

With Alexus and Virgil

"Virgil, I have a problem, I, uh, like Richie," Alexus started to twirl a few black strands of hair.

"Why's that a problem?" Virgil asked, confused.

"I mean, I like him, like him. As in I have feelings for him. I wanted to know if you could tell him for me."

"Oh," Virgil ran a hand through his ebony hair, "Sure."

"Thanks, Virgil," she hugged him, "You're the best."

"Anytime," the two teens walked back to the lunch table and sat down.

"Lexie, I need to talk to you for a sec," Daisy got up from her seat, Alexus following.

"Rich, I need to talk to you, too," Virgil pulled Richie up with him.

"Up and down, up and down, Christ," Frieda muttered, putting her head down.

With Alexus and Daisy

"Lexie, this's so cute! Richie got all nervous when he was telling me," Alexus was practically jumping.

"Daisy! Tell me!"

"Richie has a cute little crush on you," She smirked.

Alexus's jaw almost dropped, before she grinned, "Yay! He likes me!" She tried not to be too loud.

With Virgil and Richie

"Well, V, what'd she say?" Richie was anxious to know.

"Um, how should I put it," Virgil smirked. He was making Richie sweat, and it was thoroughly amusing.

"Just tell me!"

"Well, I'll just say a certain girl likes a certain blonde braniac."

Richie looked at Virgil, wide-eyed, mouth open, "Y-you're se-serious?"

"That's what she told me," Virgil laughed as he saw his best friend blush several shades of red.

Richie tugged down the sleeves of his hoodie, and silently walked back to the table, still blushing. Daisy, Alexus, and Frieda were smirking slightly at him, causing him to blush even more.

Throughout lunch, Daisy, Alexus, and Frieda were whispering to eachother, occasionly looking toward Richie and giggling.

_"Wonder what they're talking about,"_ he thought.

_"You,"_ he heard in response.

Richie almost fell out of his chair. He looked up and saw Alexus smiling at him.

_"What, you thought you, Virgil, and that Francis Stone dude were the only bang babies in this school?"_

_"Bang babies?"_

_"Cute, very cute, Don't play dumb, Richie... Or should I say, Gear?"_ She smirked in his direction.

_"How do you know?"_ They were still talking mentally.

_"I'm psychic, Richie. I can read other people's thoughts at will. I also have telekinetic powers, so I can move things with my mind, too."_

_"Interesting." _

The two continued to stare at eachother. Occasionly, Richie would blush and look down.

"Rich, Richie. Richie!" Virgil shook Richie's shoulder. "Lunch's over, man, you can stop staring at Lexie now," he laughed.

The slightly younger teenager blushed, "Shut up V. She's a bang baby, too," he whispered harshly to Virgil.

Virgil's eyes widened, "Seriously?"

"Seriously. According to her, she has psychic and telekinetic abilities. Why'd you think we were concentrating on eachother? We were talking mentally."

"That's why? I thought you were just so in love with eachother," He teased, nudging Richie.

"Oh, shut up," he muttered, and they left the lunchroom

The two boys walked out of the cafeteria, the girls close behind them.

They separated, going to their separate classrooms, but Richie and Alexus stayed together.

"Great, I have chemistry next period," Alexus his her head on her locker, "The government hates us all for forcing us to attend this torturous chamber of learning," she growled.

"Eh, it's only for three more hours," Richie laughed.

"Bite me," she glared at him playfully.

"Maybe later," he winked and started to laugh.

"Very funny," she got out her chemistry book, "Go on, I don't wanna make you late for your next class."

"K, talk to you later," Richie gave Alexus a small kiss on the cheek before walking away.

Alexus blushed, and brought her hand up to her cheek for a moment, before heading off to her class.

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Rita: Yay! I got through... I don't know about everyone else, but I feel the more I write, the more this story goes downhill...

Nicky: Review, peoples! ::bounces::


	4. Algebra

Rita: Yay! I gots reviews! Ok, well in my last chapter... the typing got screwed up and there were no spaces between words and a line was left italicized.. So I hope it doesn't happen this chapter, and if it does I apologize.

Nicky: ::still bouncing::

Rita: ::blinks:: Ooook, on with chapter four, and I don't own Static Shock! Or Happy Bunny... Or Linkin Park...

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Chapter Four

Chemistry was the last place Alexus wanted to be at the moment. The teacher was droning on about the exact same thing her old chemistry teacher droned on about. She remembered it from her old school, and had little note cards on the lesson at her house, so she didn't really have to pay any attention.

Alexus remembered right before class, when Richie had kissed her. It had only been on the cheek, but she had still blushed the color of a tomato. She could tell Richie was nervous, she could sense it.

"Ok, class, for homework, do pages 378 to 394," the class let out a loud groan, and some students, including Alexus, let their heads fall onto the their desks with a loud thud. She just wanted to leave the class, meet up with Richie in the hallway, and give him a huge hug.

When the teacher dismissed the class, Alexus went straight to her locker, bumping into Virgil on the way.

"Sorry, Virgil," Alexus apologized.

"Hey, no problem," he looked at her, "You haven't seen Richie around, have you? I lost him after we left class."

Alexus put her finger to her lips and thought for a minute, "Try the boys' bathroom."

"Thanks, catch ya later," the taller teen called, heading in the direction of the boys' bathroom.

"Hey, Lex!" Alexus turned around to see Daisy and Frieda running toward her.

"Hey, Daisy. Hey, Frieda."

"So, is it true?" Frieda asked, anxiously.

"Is what true?"

Daisy smiled, "Don't act like you don't know. Did Richie really kiss you?"

Alexus cocked her head to the side, "Yea, but it was only on the cheek. How'd you find out?"

"Girl, word travels fast in this school," Frieda nodded her head in agreement, "He did it in a crowded hallway, you don't think someone saw?"

"Well, I knew people saw. I just didn't think it was a big deal."

"Truthfully, it's not. We were just surprised that Richie Foley, the shy guy, had the guts to kiss a girl, who he hasn't known for twenty-four hours, in the middle of a crowded hallway. Even if it was only on the cheek," Daisy took a deep breath.

"Hey, Daisy! Frieda! Lexie!" the three girls spun around to see Virgil and Richie running towards them.

"Richie! We were jus talking about you," the three girls started to laugh when Richie blushed.

"I won't even ask," he smirked.

"You should already know," she whispered in his ear. He shivered.

She giggled a bit, tugging on the blue long-sleeved shirt that was under her black t-shirt.

"Virgil, what's your next class?" Daisy asked, getting some things out of her locker.

The teenager growled, "Evil, cursed, dreaded,--," Richie patted him on the shoulder.

"Algebra."

The three girls laughed. Apparantly, Virgil didn't like algebra much.

"Isn't that your next class, too, Lexie?" Daisy nudged her. Her next class was with Richie, so she tried to make it a deal.

"Uh, yeah," She pulled a small, black, Happy Bunny spiral notebook out of her locker that said: "Let's write notes about who pisses us off." She placed it gently on top of her other books.

"Well, me and Daisy have Spanish, so we'll catch up with you guys later?" Frieda looked hopingly at the boys.

"Uh, yeah, we'll try... If nothin' comes up, sure," Virgil gave a half-smile. He couldn't make any promises to them.

"Ugh, something always comes up with you two." Daisy rolled her eyes. "Always, meet ya later, Daisy, and then, poof, you're nowhere to be found. It's a shame, you always miss Static and Gear when they show up."

When would Daisy finally come to her senses, and realise that Virgil and Richie _were_ Static and Gear!

_"Someone's a little slow,"_ Richie heard chiding in his head.

_"What'd you mean?"_ He asked mentally.

_"Well, if you always disappear when Static and Gear show up, shouldn't she get suspicious? Like I said, someone's a little slow."_

"Come on, guys," Virgil interrupted them both, "Class starts in like, three minutes."

Richie and Alexus looked at eachother, then at Virgil, then at eachother again, before darting down the hallway, leaving Virgil in a cloud of dust.

"Don't see why they're rushin' to that class," Virgil started to jog after them.

When Virgil had caught up to them, they were in frong of the door. They heard random shouts coming from the room, and saw assorted paper balls and paper airplanes being launchd across the room through the window in the door, and assumed that the teacher hadn't come in yet.

The three kids entered the room, and took three seats in the back. Richie was in between Virgil and Alexus, who was currently sketching in her Happy Bunny notebook. Richie looked over Alexus's shoulder, wondering what she was drawing. In her notebook, was Linkin Park, written in graffiti lettering.

"Hey, that's nice," Richie whispered to her.

"What, this? Thanks. You want me to do your name?" She asked, pulling out a sheet of computer paper.

"Uh, if you want to."

"Kay," she took out her pencil and befan to sketch the beginning of Richie's name.

He watched as she erased stray lines quietly, without growing impatient. "You know, you have the patience of a saint," he admired that.

"Not really, I'm pretty impatient. I've just been drawing like this for a few years, so I get used to it."

Suddenly, the whole class fell silent. The teacher had entered the room with a dull expression on his face.

"Ok, class, open your textbooks to page 247," he droned, emotionlessly.

This was going to be a long class.

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Rita: Well, that was irritating to type.. Sorry for the short-ness of this chapter, I have problems with rushing into things.. On a lighter note... **_someone's _**calmed down..

Nicky: ::grins:: That's what you think.. You suck and that's sad...

Rita: ::blinks:: Ok, so now you're quoting Happy Bunny... I swear I'm gonna start quoting Jay and Silent Bob... And I don't own them either!

Nicky: Review, peoples!


	5. Poems and Battle

Rita: Hey! Welcome to chapter five. Sorry for the late-ness in the chapter, but I was taking forever to write and I have writer's block in the middle of chapter six now.

Nicky: ...Yesh...

Rita:blinks: How did you get in here, again?

Nicky:shifty eyes: Uh, a door?

Rita: Riiiight, well, here's chapter five.

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Chapter Five

The entire class period, Alexus tapped her pen on her notebook impatiently, hoping for the dismissal bell to ring, signaling the weekend. When she wasn't paying attention, she felt a paper ball hit the side of her head. She snapped back to reality, and picked it up off her desk and flattened it out on the surface. In black pen, Richie had wrote, "Can I see the Happy Bunny notebook?"

She replied by throwing the note back at Richie, and then placing the notebook on his desk.

Richie flipped through the book, noticing that 75 percent of the pages were covered in graffiti desighs, some colored, some shaded, and he had noticed some semi-morbid poems. But then he came across one that was designed in random squiggles and roses. The page had caught his eye, so he read.

Someone Who Cares

It plays through my mind,

Like a demented tape,

It's driving me crazy,

I can't stand my fate.

I pick up the blade,

And I'm seeing red,

But then I put it down,

It's no longer my friend.

I'm content now, over it,

There's no anger to flare,

Now I understand,

That there's someone who cares.

Richie stared at the poem, "Strange" he thought. He expected to hear Alexus's voice in his head, but he looked to see that she had her head turned away.

He reached over, and placed his hand on her shoulder gently. She jerked away slightly, turning to him, "Oh, sorry" she blushed faintly.

"No problem. Hey, can I ask you a question," He hesitated.

She looked at him funny, "Uh, sure."

Richie placed the notebook, open to the poem, on her desk"Is this poem from your perspective"

The girl's eyes widened slightly, "Uh, yea, I can explain that, though." She closed the notebook, "You see... a few years ago, my older brother was killed, and I was devastated. I mean, he was my best friend, and we did everything together. So when he died, I felt like there was only one way out, and I tried suicide. Tell you, it was the _stupidest_ decision I ever made because the next morning I was in the hospital, but that's not the point. I was stupid."

"Lexie... I'm sorry."

She shook her head, "Don't be. There's nothing for you to be sorry about, I actually blame myself."

"Why"

"Lemme explain. My parents were out of town, and my brother was watching me. We got bored and I wanted to go to the video store to rent this horror movie that had just come out. He said he'd go, but I couldn't go with him. So he went out, and he never came back. The next day, the police found him in an alley, like a block away from the house, bloody. They say he was stabbed to death. I blame myself, because if I didn't want the movie, he wouldn't have died."

"Hey, don't blame yourself. You didn't know it was gonna happen, so you couldn't have done anything about it."

"I know that. But it kills me to know that I could've done something to prevent it."

Meanwhile, Virgil was overhearing the conversation. He was one to know how it was to lose a loved one, since he had lost his mother in a gang shoot-out.

The clock had struck two forty-five, and the dismissal bell rang.

"At last," Alexus groaned jokingly. No one heard her over the roar of the other students.

The teenages made it to their lockers, and heard a loud crash. Virgil ran to check it out. He came back in record time.

"Rich, Hotstreak and Talon, let's go."

Richie nodded, and ran after Virgil, also grabbing Alexus's arm, pulling her along.

"Hey, wait, what do I put on to hide my face"

Richie indicated to the backpack slung over her shoulder, "Got a hoodie?"

She nodded slightly.

"Put it on, now."

While running, Alexus pulled the Nike hoodie over her head, tugging the hood over her eyes.

They ran into an alley, where Virgil tore off his street clothes, revealing his Static costume. Richie did the same, and pulled his helmet on.

"Cool outfits, guys."

"Thanks," the guys said in unison, "Let's go."

Virgil charged up his disk and hopped on. Richie charged up his rocket skates, and Alexus levitated out of the alley.

"Static! I see Hotstreak!" Richie called to Virgil, "He's over by the warehouse," He looked over his shoulder for Talon, to see Alexus, who had her hands on her temples, eyes squeezed shut.

Suddenly, he heard Talon's ear-piercing shriek. He noticed that she was holding her head, screaming, while Alexus was still holding her temples, eyes shut.

"She must be using her abilities against Talon or something," he spoke quietly.

Snapping his head back to Virgil, he saw his friend dodging fire balls being thrown by the ill-tempered meta-human.

"Gear! Get Talon! Look behind you!" Virgil called, throwing a few electric blasts at Hotstreak.

Talon had fell to the ground, Alexus following close behind. They heard sirens and landed safely.

Alexus felt like she was going to collapse. Using her abilities on Talon had taken a lot out of her. She stumbled to the ground, and leaned back against a wall. As the hooded teenager saw Richie coming toward her, she flinched and backed away.

"Go help Virgil...Static..." she told him, "Just let me go."

Richie nodded reluctantly, but went to help Virgil. As soon as he had his back turned, Alexus took off down the alley, heading towards her house.

"Hey, Static, you ok" Richie asked his partner.

"Yea, I'm fine. One of Hotstreak's fireballs just grazed my shoulder. I think I might be bleeding," he looked over his shoulder to see beads of blood forming where the fireball had barely hit him.

"Lemme see," Richie wiped away some blood, "Yea, you'll be fine. Probably you'll just need a bandaid."

"Ok, come on, let's go," Virgil landed his Static Saucer and headed back to the alley to change.

The two teenagers walked down the sidewalk, on the way to Virgil's house. They were talking about Richie's father again.

"Why'dya let him do that to ya, man"

Richie started to feel very uncomfortable. "I don't know, I just feel like I can't do anything about it."

Virgil blinked, "Well.. did ya everthink of tryin tofight back...?"

"V, have you seen the size of my dad? He could freakin' kill me!"

"Rich, have you looked at yourself in the mirror lately? Ever since you started fighting with me, you've really toughened up."

"I dunno, Virg. I feel weak compared to him."

"Richie, you're one of the strongest people I know. You're not weak. You could defend yourself if you wanted to."

Richie looked up at him, "You're serious?"

"Yea, Rich... I mean it."

-

Rita: W00t! for typing chapters at 1:30 AM! And I'm starting to not... like... this.. chick... Next chapter she's not in it, this I'm sure, because half of it's already written :smiles all big and shit: And excuse my sucky poetry writing!

Nicky: Oh don't forget... About that thing...

Rita: What thing?.. :silence: Oh... Thaaat thing...

Nicky: Yea, we know about someone's Superman secret...

Rita: Looooooong story, readers... You DON'T wanna know. :supresses laughing her ass off:

Nicky: Review, peoples!

Rita: And if there's any question marks missing or commas missing, the editor was being a bitch so it screwed it up and I couldn't edit it back.


	6. Virgil's

Rita: Hey! I got over my writer's block, and finally finished chapter six! Thanks for the reviews, everybody!  
Ok, and to **Saturn's Hikari**, I REALISE that Richie's being OOC, and I'm workin' on that, I don't like him being OOC, he's too cool and main to be OOC... But I'm not just gonna scratch out Alexus... And, people can write morbid poetry and by obsessed with Happy Bunny, I have friends that do that. And it's fiction, so I'm not TRYING to be realistic with the brother's death. And one more thing.. just because of that battle, and her powers SEEMED in control, believe me, their far from in control.

Nicky: Johnny Depp kicks ass!

Rita:blinks: Yes, yes he does, Nicky... Ok, here's chapter six of Psyched!

Chapter Six

When they finally reached Virgil's house, they headed directly toward his room to play video games.

"Pick a game, Rich," Virgil fell back onto his bed, his head hitting a pillow with a soft, feather-muffled thud.

"Umm," Richie searched through the video games, "how about, Attack Of The Mutant Squid Monsters IV."

"Good choice, man," Virgil zapped the game system with his powers, turning it on, "I beat this already. It's pretty cool."

The two teenagers played the game, eyes fixed intently on the television. The characters were currently facing off in a versus match, while still trying to ward off mutant squids.

"Ha! Got ya, Rich," Virgil smirked.

Richie grinned, "Oh, you are so goin' down!"

The boys were hitting buttons on the controllers like mad, shooting gigantic squids while trying to maintain their match, until Virgil rid Richie of his HP.

"Whoo-hoo!" The taller teen jumped back on his bed, "Toldja you were gone, man."

Richie playfully grabbed one of Virgil's pillows and hit him over the head with it.

"Hey, hey, hey! Dude, watch the hair," he pouted playfully. He ran a hand through his dreadlocks, grabbing Richie's wrist softly in the process as to make sure he didn't hit him again.

The blonde teenager let out a short cry of pain and pulled back. Virgil's face went from playful to concerned.

"What's wrong, Rich?" Virgil eyed him, "I didn't grab your wrist that hard."

Richie let out a slight whimper and looked away, "Nothing."

"Rich," Virgil's voice was stern.

"V," Richie mocked.

"Don't do this, man. What happened?"

Richie made a growling noise in the back of his throat, knowing Virgil wouldn't take 'nothing' for an answer, and rolled up the sleeve of his hoodie, revealing a large, dark bruise.

"Holy shit," Virgil nearly whispered, "Richie, how could you let your father do this, man?"

"I told you before, Virg. I feel weak around him. I _show_ weakness around him. He doesn't like weakness."

"Richie!" Virgil took Richie's shoulders, "What your dad's doing to you is child abuse. If you keep taking this without a fight, he could end up killing you!"

The blonde let out a dry laugh, "Y'know, Virg, you sould just like my mother."

"Man, that's not the point! The point is, you're getting abused, and you're putting up with it," Virgil looked dead into Richie's blue eyes, "You're my best friend, I don't want to see you get hurt."

The smaller teenager backed out of his friend's grip, casting his gaze down to avoid Virgil's eyes.

"Virgil?" Richie's voice shook a bit, cracking, "Stop it. Please? Just... stop... talking.. about it."

Virgil let his hands fall into his lap, "Fine, if you don't wanna talk about it that much, I won't force you."

Richie put his head down, "Dude, I'm sorry. I just get this feeling that if I talk about it, my dad'll pulverize the crap outta me."

"Richie, if you don't wanna talk about it, then you don't wanna talk about it. I get that. But if he gets out of control, you _do_ know you can come to me about it, right?"

"Yeah, V," blue eyes lit up, "I know."

There was an awkward silence after Richie's response that caused tension between the two boys, causing said blonde to toy with the silver hoop that pierced his left ear.

Virgil noticed his best friend knocking the hoop back and forth. That usually meant he was stressed, nervous, or bored. And he doubted that he was bored.

"Hey, you ok, man?"

Richie jumped a bit, "Y-yeah, I'm.. I'm fine."

The taller teen raised a disbelieving eyebrow, "Ok."

There was another awkward silence, before Richie grabbed the pillow he once held, and light hit Virgil on the back with it, pulling a laugh from him.

"For that," Virgil reached for another pillow, "You're going down!" With that, he thwapped Richie upside the head with the soft, white pillow.

Richie's glasses slid down his nose, "Hey, hold up, something's gonna break my glasses."

Virgil magnetically took Richie's glasses and set them on his computer desk, "Just get contacts."

His best friend smiled, "I like my glasses better," he hit Virgil, "they're comfortable."

The black-haired teenager hit Richie in the back with the pillow, "and you're odd."

They continued to his eachother with the pillows, knocking some non-breakable objects off Virgil's computer desk. After a while, they had calmed down and fell backwards onto Virgil's bed.

"Hey..Rich.." Virgil said between breaths, "What... time.. is... it..?"

Richie lifted his arm in front of his face to read his watch, "Quarter... to four," he let his arm fall, watch hitting his head, "Ouch."

"You're friggen kiddin' me. Only forty-five minutes passed? Felt like two hours."

"Well, there goes the term 'time flies when you're having fun'," he laughed.

Richie felt his phone vibrate in his pants pocket, "Hold on, V. Someone's callin'."

He pulled out his cellphone and checked the caller ID, it said "home." He flipped it open.

"Hello?"

"Richie, it's mom. Your father's working overtime, so you can stay at Virgil's house for a while."

"Ok, thanks, mom."

"Any time, Richie. Bye."

Richie closed his phone and slipped it back into his pocket, "That was my mom. She said dad's working overtime, so I don't have to rush home."

"Cool," Virgil smiled, "So, what's there to do?"

"I dunno, I heard there's a cool sci-fi movie on channel 92."

"Well, solves our problem," Virgil chuckled and flipped on the television, and the two boys sat in front of it and watched the movie.

Rita: Yaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaayyyyyyyy! I finally finished the damn chapter! So happy. :bounces in her computer chair:

Nicky:pokes: I'm gonna go watch Smallville... Byezzzz:goes and watches Smallville:

Rita:blinks: Ok, see ya later! o.o; And I'll be going too.. Byez:bounces away:


	7. CDs and Dark Alleys

Rita: Hi! Sry it's taken me so long to update, but my computer crashed and I just got a new one today!

Nicky: Kitteh! Hyez! (new word! Kinda like byez)

Rita: Ok, well here's chapter seven.

oOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoO

Chapter Seven

Virgil and Richie were still watching the credits of the sci-fi movie, when something hit Virgil.

"Hey, Rich? What ever happen to Lexie?"

Richie shrugged, "I dunno. When we were fighting Hotstreak and Talon, she told me to go help you, then I guess she took off."

"Oh, ok."

The last of the credits played, a commercial for the same movie, on DVD, had come onto the screen.

"Hey, do you wanna go to the record store? Y'know, just to browse around," Richie stretched his legs out in front of himself.

"Why not, there's nothing else to do."

Both of the teenagers jumped up from their spots on the floor, and headed for the door.

Richie grabbed his glasses off the table and slid them back up on his nose.

The two teenagers came down the stairs like lightening. Mr. Hawkins came into view, "Don't fall, boys."

Virgil nodded, "Yeah, pops."

The boys opened the door, and ran out, almost knocking Sharon, and the bag of groceries she was carrying, to the ground.

"Watch where you're going!" She growled, "Geeze, no respect. No, 'sorry, Sharon.' Little brothers."

They slowed down once they got off Virgil's block. The walk to the record store was quiet, they only spoke of the special effects in the movie they had just watched moments before.

"Hey, is it just me, or did this walk here take longer than usual?" Richie asked, opening the door.

"Dunno," Virgil stepped in the store, "Seemed the same to me. Maybe you justhey, isn't that Lexie?"

Richie's head snapped around, and sure enough, Lexie was standing in the rock section of the small CD store. She was surrounded by a girl with jet black hair, in a loose pony tail, dressed in black Dickies capris, and a blue t-shirt with the Superman logo on it. On the other side of her was a boy with spiky blue hair, black emo glasses, baggy blue jeans, and a black t-shirt that said, "everything else was dirty."

"Yea, that's her," Richie sort of brushed it off, "And the big deal is?"

Virgil's eyes widened in play shock, "Oh my god, you don't care?" And he started to laugh.

Richie shook his head, "Not really, it's typical for any teenager to be out on a Friday afternoon," then he had realized what his friend just said, and narrowed his blue eyes at him, "Shut up."

Virgil chuckled, "Ok, man."

Richie glanced over his shoulder, and caught Alexus looking at him with a soft expression on her face. She quickly turned away. Richie became confused, her expression was not only soft, but she looked hurt.

He concentrated a bit, maybe he could talk to her mentally.

"Something wrong?" he asked her quietly.

Across the store, she visibly jumped, "No."

The blue eyed teenager winced at her short answer.

"Ok," he mentally whispered, sounding a bit hurt.

Alexus softened at the sound of offense in Richie's voice.

"Hey, Rich," Virgil put a hand on his friend's shoulder, "You ok? You look hurt."

Richie shrugged it off, not wanting to ruin the day, "It's nothin', V."

Virgil saw the girl in the Superman shirt pick out a CD, and take it to the counter. When it was payed for, the girl left the store, Alexus and the blue haired teen following close behind.

"Ok," Virgil blinked. He picked up a rap CD off the shelf, and held it loosely in front of Richie's face, "This what you're looking for?"

Richie blinked, took the CD from Virgil's hand, and checked it front and back, "Yea, this's the one,' he brought it up to the counter. "Thanks." He payed for it, and while twirling his fingers into the handles of the plastic bag, asked Virgil, "You gettin' anything, V? You're kinda just."

"Standin' here. I know, sorry, man. I dazed. We could go if you're done."

Richie nodded, "Kay."

The two headed out of the store, and passed an alley. Richie stopped dead, "Virg, you hear that?"

Virgil raised an eyebrow, "Huh?" He listened intently on what Richie was hearing. He could make out a soft voice.

"Let go of me, Francis," the voice was highly recognizable. Lexie.

"Where're your little friends now, Lex?" Francis laughed.

"Francis, lemme go!"

Richie and Virgil moved against a wall to peek into the alley. Francis had Alexus pinned up against a wall, her wrists above her head.

"That snake," Richie growled.

Virgil didn't think, he just darted into the alley, and instinctively, Richie followed.

Francis was slipping his hand up Alexus's shirt, smirking, when Virgil slammed into his ribs, knocking him to the ground.

Alexus stood up straight, "Virgil, Richie, what're you doing here?"

"Uh, just passin' by?" Virgil quickly said, trying to hold Francis.

"You didn't need to come in here, you know. I could've handled it myself,Richie, watch out!"

Apparantly, Francis had slipped through Virgil's grip, and had headed straight for Richie.

The blonde teen looked to his left, only to catch a flash of red before he was tackled to the ground.

"Step off, Foley. This's between me and her!"

Richie kept struggling, despite the fact that Francis was much bigger and stronger than he was.

"Francis! You get off him you fucking bastard!" Alexus yelled, trying to pull the redhead off Richie. "Let him go! He doesn't need to be dragged into this."

Francis stopped, and let go of Richie's hoodie, letting his head fall. He looked toward Alexus. "You should be thankful they came. You were helpless."

Alexus growled... she was _not_ helpless. "Get off him, and let's finish this. I'm not through with you and you're not taking me that easily."

Virgil and Richie became confused. What did she mean by take her. Then their eyes widened. Was he trying to

Rape her?

oOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoO

Rita: DUN DUN DUN! My first cliffeh... Well, sort of... Ok I gotta goez.

Nicky: Byez peoples! Review please! Reviews makes my kitteh happeh!


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